Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
The latest COVID-19 developments: Biden hints at sending additional vaccines, Ford in isolation and more
U.S. President Joe Biden today hinted at plans to send surplus COVID-19 vaccines to Canada, after he and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a half-hour call. The United States is sitting on a stockpile of vaccine doses that it’s not currently using, he said – a likely reference to the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, which is approved here but not in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is urging Canadian companies to have patience as the federal government faces growing questions about its plan for reopening the economy and border.
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford is in isolation after a member of his staff who had been in close contact with him tested positive for COVID-19. Ford tested negative for the virus yesterday. Today, the province’s new case count has returned to more than 4,000 after a dip yesterday: 4,212 new cases and 32 more deaths linked to the virus.
Alberta has delayed plans to vaccinate meat-packing employees against the coronavirus in a mass clinic at Cargill’s slaughterhouse in High River, where an outbreak a year ago infected about 1,000 people and led to three deaths.
In sports, the Canadian Football League is pushing back the start to its 2021 season to Aug. 5, with the Grey Cup championship game now scheduled for Dec. 12 in Hamilton. And the women’s world hockey championship, scheduled this year for May 6-16 in Nova Scotia, has been cancelled a second time because of COVID-19.
Read more:
- Some front-line hospital workers still haven’t been vaccinated for COVID-19
- Ontario urged to hold lottery for key drug used on COVID-19 patients
- When Manitoba lowered the age for vaccines, this principal hopped on the loudspeaker, directing his staff book a shot
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Bank of Canada hikes growth forecast, could raise rates in second half of next year
The Bank of Canada is cutting its pace of government bond buying and moving forward its timing for a potential rate hike after dramatically raising growth projections for the Canadian economy.
The central bank is reducing its Government of Canada bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, to $3-billion a week from $4-billion. It kept its overnight policy rate at 0.25 per cent, but shifted its forward guidance for a potential rate hike to the second half of 2022 from 2023.
The bank now expects the Canadian economy to grow 6.5 per cent this year, up from 4 per cent it forecast in January, driven in large part by stronger-than-expected growth in the first quarter of 2021.
Putin warns West not to cross Russia’s ‘red lines’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used his annual state-of-the-nation address to criticize what he said was an attempted “coup” in neighbouring Belarus and to warn foreign powers not to cross Russia’s “red lines” – which he said Russia alone would define.
Putin surprisingly said almost nothing about Ukraine, despite the massive military buildup – which Russia says is only a combat-readiness test – and weeks of propaganda in Kremlin-controlled media about the threat the Ukrainian military allegedly poses to the predominantly Russian-speaking population of Donbass.
Another theme that got no mention in the speech was the fate of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is said to be in critical condition in a prison hospital.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Rogers CEO ‘deeply disappointed’ by outage: Joe Natale, chief executive officer of Rogers Communications, has apologized to wireless customers affected by a 16-hour outage as the telecom reported first-quarter results that beat analyst expectations.
U.S. launches probe into Minneapolis policing practices: The Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis after former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of all three counts in the killing of George Floyd there.
Delay in Meng hearing: A B.C. judge has agreed to delay Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s U.S. extradition hearings for three months, according to a ruling read in court today, handing her legal team a win.
Goodale named U.K. envoy: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed former Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale as high commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom.
MARKET WATCH
North American stocks rose today, rebounding from a two-day decline, although the TSX underperformed the major U.S. indexes because of a pullback in the oil and gas sector. The real action in Canada was in currency and credit markets, with the Bank of Canada’s suggestion that rate hikes could be coming as soon as the second half of 2022 sparking a rally in the Canadian dollar and in bond yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 316.01 points or 0.93 per cent to 34,137.31, the S&P 500 climbed 38.48 points or 0.93 per cent to end at 4,173.42 and the Nasdaq Composite added 163.95 points or 1.19 per cent to end at 13,950.22.
Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index gained 102.47 points or 0.54 per cent to 19,143.25.
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TALKING POINTS
A seminal moment for racial justice in America - but don’t count on it lasting
“[George] Floyd’s death and the subsequent conviction of his asphyxiator mark another national reckoning on racial injustice. It’s a step forward. But the hope that it’s a leap is belied by precedent.” - Lawrence Martin
This isn’t a Disney sports documentary. The European Super League doesn’t end here
“As it turns out, the European Super League managed to achieve something that no longer seems possible in the Western world – unite everyone of every political stripe at every level of society in vocal agreement on something. In this case, that the ESL was one cash grab too far.” - Cathal Kelly
Read more: As European soccer Super League fizzles, calls grow for punishment, resignations
LIVING BETTER
Today is National Canadian Film Day, an annual celebration of this country’s that again this year has moved to online streaming. Programmers this year also chose to promote emerging filmmakers by soliciting 11 shorts from 15 talents working to address a hopeful theme. The Globe’s Kate Taylor takes you through this year’s offerings here.
TODAY’S LONG READ
Ravines are a Toronto treasure, but everyone needs an equal chance to enjoy them
Jacqueline L. Scott, shown at Toronto's Riverdale Park, has blogged about her experiences as a Black woman in the urban outdoors, such as passersby asking her whether she was lost when she was wearing the gear of an experienced hiker.Dawit Tibebu/The Globe and Mail
Toronto’s ravines are one of its greatest assets, verdant refuges of health, beauty and relaxation. They are also a shared public space allowing residents of an increasingly stratified city – where people of different income levels inhabit different neighbourhoods, attend different schools and eat at different restaurants – to exist as equals.
At least in theory. But it often doesn’t work this way. Jacqueline L. Scott, a keen outdoorswoman who is Black, so rarely comes across someone like her that she started blogging about her experiences. “If you don’t see yourself there, you’re less likely to go,” she said. “It’s a sense of, am I going to be okay? And if there’s a group of us, is somebody going to call the police and say, ‘Oh my god, Black people are hanging out in the woods?’ ”
Such concerns can discourage racialized people living near ravines who could, in theory, use the green space as a communal backyard. But full public inclusion in the ravines is an issue that goes beyond race. Read Oliver Moore and Alex Bozikovic’s full story here.
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